What can one person do to make a difference in the world? Consider the following people:
Noah
Abraham
Paul
Martin Luther
Noah built a football sized boat with the help of only his family and preserved the human race. Abraham left all his worldly possessions and extended family and went solo to a land his descendants would someday inhabit. That people altered the course of history. Paul singlehandedly planted Christian churches throughout much of the Roman empire in a period of about 30 years. The result is today there are some 2 billion Christians throughout the world. Martin Luther, by himself, took on the most powerful institution of his time, the Catholic Church, and confronted it with a reformation which has lasted to this day.
What can one person do? When that individual is part of God’s army – he can change the world.
You may not be a student of history, but if you believe that God is all powerful and uses that power in personally working through human beings, then Martin Luther and the Reformation have to matter to you. Luther’s life and legacy are a testimony of what God can do through a single human being. No earthly pleasure will reward you for wasting the present God has given you to make a difference in the forever of people. Have you ever looked at life that way? Luther did. You can too.
Saturday evening worship: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning worship: 10:00 am
Friday, October 31, 2014
Friday, October 17, 2014
What Might Have Been
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
She came with a new, pink blanket in her hands. She should have been carrying something else. But, she wasn’t. They should have been heading home to family in the Midwest. But they weren’t. Instead, they were standing with two strangers in a cold and windswept cemetery.
They had come to bury their baby. She could not bear the thought of her little one lying in the cold ground—thus the blanket. Their minds were plagued by thoughts of what might have been.
He had returned safely from Vietnam and been discharged from the Marines two weeks earlier. He stayed on in North Carolina because his wife was in the hospital with a difficult pregnancy. They had plans for a baby shower when they returned to family and friends. They had planned what color to paint the baby’s room. They had planned for the joy of parenthood. They had not planned for the word “stillborn” to be echoing in their minds.
It seemed cruel. Both parents had been baptized as infants. They had gone to Sunday School and church. They had been confirmed. They had lived the Christian life while teenagers. So why was God so heartless?
He wasn’t. But his plans for them were different from what they were expecting. As they stared at the small grave on that December day, they may have felt that their plans were better than God’s plans. God’s plans hurt.
But human eyes are not able to see the future. Human minds cannot see how all the pieces of life’s puzzle might fit together. Human hearts cannot love to the depth of God’s surprising grace.
So, it is a good thing that God has plans for each of those he calls his own. Good thing that he can absolutely carry his plans out. Good thing that his plans are to prosper us in ways that cannot imagine—plans that will give hope and a future.
Good thing there is God!
Perhaps this grieving couple became the parents of other children. Maybe one of them grew up to be a Marine. Maybe one of them became a pastor. Who knows? God knows, and he already knew as he watched that pink blanket tenderly placed over that tiny casket.
With sorrow we may sometimes wonder why things don’t work out the way we had planned. With faith, we can be assured that all things will work together for our good.
What might have been is not as important as, according to God’s plans, what will be.
Written by Pastor Paul Ziemer, WELS National Civilian Chaplain
If you would like to receive Pastor Ziemer’s weekly devotions, please visit www.welsmilitary.net
Saturday evening worship: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning worship: 10:00 am
She came with a new, pink blanket in her hands. She should have been carrying something else. But, she wasn’t. They should have been heading home to family in the Midwest. But they weren’t. Instead, they were standing with two strangers in a cold and windswept cemetery.
They had come to bury their baby. She could not bear the thought of her little one lying in the cold ground—thus the blanket. Their minds were plagued by thoughts of what might have been.
He had returned safely from Vietnam and been discharged from the Marines two weeks earlier. He stayed on in North Carolina because his wife was in the hospital with a difficult pregnancy. They had plans for a baby shower when they returned to family and friends. They had planned what color to paint the baby’s room. They had planned for the joy of parenthood. They had not planned for the word “stillborn” to be echoing in their minds.
It seemed cruel. Both parents had been baptized as infants. They had gone to Sunday School and church. They had been confirmed. They had lived the Christian life while teenagers. So why was God so heartless?
He wasn’t. But his plans for them were different from what they were expecting. As they stared at the small grave on that December day, they may have felt that their plans were better than God’s plans. God’s plans hurt.
But human eyes are not able to see the future. Human minds cannot see how all the pieces of life’s puzzle might fit together. Human hearts cannot love to the depth of God’s surprising grace.
So, it is a good thing that God has plans for each of those he calls his own. Good thing that he can absolutely carry his plans out. Good thing that his plans are to prosper us in ways that cannot imagine—plans that will give hope and a future.
Good thing there is God!
Perhaps this grieving couple became the parents of other children. Maybe one of them grew up to be a Marine. Maybe one of them became a pastor. Who knows? God knows, and he already knew as he watched that pink blanket tenderly placed over that tiny casket.
With sorrow we may sometimes wonder why things don’t work out the way we had planned. With faith, we can be assured that all things will work together for our good.
What might have been is not as important as, according to God’s plans, what will be.
Written by Pastor Paul Ziemer, WELS National Civilian Chaplain
If you would like to receive Pastor Ziemer’s weekly devotions, please visit www.welsmilitary.net
Saturday evening worship: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning worship: 10:00 am
Friday, October 10, 2014
Love that Changes the World Isn’t Always Easy
Love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love, love
There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy
Nothing you can make that can't be made
No one you can save that can't be saved
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time
It's easy
All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need
Love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love, love
All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need
"All You Need Is Love" (John Lennon and Paul McCartney)
John Lennon and Paul McCartney had a way with music and words. When they joined the two all the pieces of the puzzle of life seemed to come together. A quick glance at the lyrics of the song “All You Need Is Love” without the melodious voices of the Beatles in the background, however, focuses our attention on the meaning of the words. As we soak in the message we suddenly realize that there isn’t much of a message at all. Of course someone might say, “It’s all about love.” But therein lies the problem. What exactly is the love which the Beatles are describing?
No matter how one defines human love, it is rarely easy, it is never “all you need” and often it appears to be ineffective.
In one of the most famous love passages in the Bible, the Apostle John describes love far more specifically and effectively than the Beatles. Love that actually does something, love that can change peoples’ lives is love that originates from the source of all love – God. In the person of Jesus Christ we have a living definition of love which we not only can understand in practical terms but are able to experience personally and then reflect in the way we live on a daily basis.
Love is far more than a cliché or concept. Love is a Person, the Person who changed everything.
Saturday evening worship: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning worship: 10:00 am
Love, love, love
Love, love, love
There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy
Nothing you can make that can't be made
No one you can save that can't be saved
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time
It's easy
All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need
Love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love, love
All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need
"All You Need Is Love" (John Lennon and Paul McCartney)
John Lennon and Paul McCartney had a way with music and words. When they joined the two all the pieces of the puzzle of life seemed to come together. A quick glance at the lyrics of the song “All You Need Is Love” without the melodious voices of the Beatles in the background, however, focuses our attention on the meaning of the words. As we soak in the message we suddenly realize that there isn’t much of a message at all. Of course someone might say, “It’s all about love.” But therein lies the problem. What exactly is the love which the Beatles are describing?
No matter how one defines human love, it is rarely easy, it is never “all you need” and often it appears to be ineffective.
In one of the most famous love passages in the Bible, the Apostle John describes love far more specifically and effectively than the Beatles. Love that actually does something, love that can change peoples’ lives is love that originates from the source of all love – God. In the person of Jesus Christ we have a living definition of love which we not only can understand in practical terms but are able to experience personally and then reflect in the way we live on a daily basis.
Love is far more than a cliché or concept. Love is a Person, the Person who changed everything.
Saturday evening worship: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning worship: 10:00 am
Friday, October 3, 2014
When There Is No Place for Gray
We’re told over and over that life is so complicated, that no one can know for sure what is true and what is false, what is right and what is wrong. We live in what people would call a “gray world” in which things are neither black or white. They say we can have no certainty about anything.
At times it is very convenient to live in a gray world. We can rationalize just about any behavior even though we know deep down it is wrong. We just tell ourselves, “For me, it’s okay to do that kind of thing because it makes me happy.”
Some wonder why even today certain people have such a violent reaction to the person and teaching of Jesus Christ. They ask “He talked about love and helping one another. Who could possibly react negatively to those ideas?”
The answer to that question is, “Those who understand how strongly and specifically Jesus insisted on those characteristics.” He didn’t just say, “Be nice when it fits your schedule.” He said, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
When people said, “Your teaching is too hard!” Jesus replied, “Is it worth it to go easy on yourself and lose your soul in eternity?” He didn’t back down. He didn’t make his teaching gray just to accommodate people. He came to bring certainty and in doing so he drew a line in the sand for all people. He claimed to be the Son of God, the Savior all people need. He demanded a life of total commitment by those who follow him. He left no doubt about truth and error, right and wrong.
The Apostle John, in describing the lifestyle of a follower of Jesus, said the way we live demonstrates which side of the line we are on which Jesus drew in the sand of humanity. He challenges us to go beyond the gray of moral compromise and strive to live in the black and white truth of himself.
Saturday evening worship: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning worship: 10:00 am
At times it is very convenient to live in a gray world. We can rationalize just about any behavior even though we know deep down it is wrong. We just tell ourselves, “For me, it’s okay to do that kind of thing because it makes me happy.”
Some wonder why even today certain people have such a violent reaction to the person and teaching of Jesus Christ. They ask “He talked about love and helping one another. Who could possibly react negatively to those ideas?”
The answer to that question is, “Those who understand how strongly and specifically Jesus insisted on those characteristics.” He didn’t just say, “Be nice when it fits your schedule.” He said, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
When people said, “Your teaching is too hard!” Jesus replied, “Is it worth it to go easy on yourself and lose your soul in eternity?” He didn’t back down. He didn’t make his teaching gray just to accommodate people. He came to bring certainty and in doing so he drew a line in the sand for all people. He claimed to be the Son of God, the Savior all people need. He demanded a life of total commitment by those who follow him. He left no doubt about truth and error, right and wrong.
The Apostle John, in describing the lifestyle of a follower of Jesus, said the way we live demonstrates which side of the line we are on which Jesus drew in the sand of humanity. He challenges us to go beyond the gray of moral compromise and strive to live in the black and white truth of himself.
Saturday evening worship: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning worship: 10:00 am
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Hawaii Lutheran Church (WELS)
- Community Lutheran Church
- Honolulu, HI
- Community Lutheran Church holds protestant chapel services in Honolulu, Hawaii near Pearl Harbor, HI. We are next to the USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hickam Air Force Base, and Fort Shafter Hawaii. Look for us directly behind the Salt Lake, Hawaii, Target.